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Chipotle halts carnitas sales after supplier violation

Consumers may have to wait a while to get some pork dishes at hundreds of Chipotle restaurants. Chipotle says it has stopped serving pork at hundreds of locations because a key pork supplier was suspended.

Chipotle halts carnitas sales after supplier violation

FILE - JANUARY 14: According to reports, Chipotle has temporarily suspended sales of pork in more than 1,700 of its restaurants following a violation of one of its suppliers on January 14, 2015. MIAMI, FL - MARCH 05: A Chipotle restaurant is seen on March 5, 2014 in Miami, Florida. The Mexican fast food chain is reported to have tossed around the idea that it would temporarily suspend sales of guacamole due to an increase in food costs. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 477196807 ORIG FILE ID: 476810327(Photo: Joe Raedle, Getty Images)

Consumers may have to wait a while to get pork dishes at hundreds of Chipotle restaurants.

Chipotle says it has stopped serving carnitas at many locations because a key pork supplier was suspended after violating Chipotle's standards for raising pigs.

"This is fundamentally an animal welfare decision, and is rooted in our unwillingness to compromise our standards where animal welfare is concerned," spokesman Chris Arnold said in an e-mail.

Chipotle learned of the violation by a supplier late last week during a routine audit, said Arnold, a spokesman for the Denver-based Mexican chain that has more than 1,700 locations. A sizable chunk of Chipotle's customers are attracted by the perceived high quality of its food and its rigid standards on animal abuse.

Chipotle will not serve carnitas at some of these restaurants, rather than use conventionally raised pork, said Arnold.

At issue: housing for pigs. Chipotle's standards require suppliers to raise pigs in "humane" conditions — meaning the pigs must not be cramped into pens, and they must have some access to the outdoors.

Most conventionally raised pigs generally do not have access to the outdoors, spend their lives in densely crowded buildings, live on hard slatted floors with no bedding and no ability to root, and are given antibiotics to keep them from getting sick. "We would rather not serve pork at all, than serve pork from animals that are raised in this way," Arnold said.

There is no timetable for the return of carnitas topping, he said.

Chipotle is exploring several options to add to its pork supply, including adding new suppliers, finding additional cuts of pork to use, and growing the supply among existing suppliers, Arnold said.